1.

I respond that this is true based on the Bible verses that I have
seen. One passage that I came across showing this is 1
Corinthians 14:34-35. This passage says how women should keep
silent in churches because they are not permitted to and are
supposed to be obedient. It then states that if they have a matter
that they want to learn about that they should ask their husband
at home because it is a shame for them to speak in church. I
think this is seen in more places than just this in the Bible. This
book was written a very long time ago when beliefs and cultures
were different from how they are now. It might have been
believed back then that women were inferior and were supposed
to be submissive to their man. Therefore, the Bible is just
enforcing what was commonplace during those times. It is seen
from the beginning when God tells Eve that she must be
submissive to Adam because he is made of her rib. 1 Timothy
2:11-15 talks about how Adam was formed first and was not
deceived by the devil, thus he has the authority over his woman,
who should be silent. The story of Lilith goes right along with this
idea because Adam rejected her because she was not submissive
like she was supposed to be. The man was seen as being above
women but just below God. This is referenced in 1 Corinthians
11:3 where it says how man is the head of the woman and Christ
is the head of the man.
2. Hildegard of Bingen was not only a Saint and devout Christian
mystic. She was also a polymath that wrote about science and
medicine. She combined her practices of theology and science.
Saint Hildegard worked in an infirmary where she learned a lot
about diagnosing and treating patients. She combined it with
theology by centering her treatment methods on spiritual
healing. Hildegard of Bingens use of holistic methods for
scientific use was stemmed in Gods word. Genesis in the Bible
states that all things on earth are for the use of humans.
Therefore, she applied theology to her scientific method of
healing people. Mary Baker Eddy is similar to Hildegard of Bingen
in how she related her faith to the science that she was studying.
Like Hildegard, Mary believed that medical healing could be done
by the power of a faith in God rather than by drugs or other
treatments. She thought that Jesus did not use drugs to heal
people. He instead used religious power. She created Christian
science as a result of her beliefs. I think people can embrace
this relationship of science and theology, but it should not be
taken to an extreme. For example, I like the idea of using prayer
and positive thoughts to help with the recovery process, but that
should not be the only form of treatment. Science can prove the
effects of drugs and other treatments on helping people. I would
not trust prayer to heal my tuberculosis or polio if I got it. I would

be accepting the vaccine for those diseases as soon as possible.

Another example is the creation versus evolution argument. Why
couldnt evolution have happened as a result God guiding the
process along? Science and theology should not be pitted against
each other. They should work in unison. Therefore, I think the two
ideas can be combined to help each other.
3. Immacule Ilibagiza embodies the ideals of the Solidarity theme
in Catholic Social Teaching. This teaching is all about promoting
peace in our world of violence, conflict, and hate. She was
subject to the discrimination of the Hutu people in Rwanda killing
her Tutsi people. After all of the hardship she faced like the
murder of her entire family she still managed to be at peace
with the murderers by forgiving them. The teaching is to love thy
neighbor, no matter the ideological differences, like in her case.
Esther embodies the ideals of the Option for the Poor and
Vulnerable theme in Catholic Social teaching. This teaching says
to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable people first. Esther
was in a higher position than her people who were being
oppressed. The Catholic teaching is for those that have the
means have a duty to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Esther stood up to the King in order to save the people who were
vulnerable to his Kingdoms reign. Malala Yousafzai is a third
woman we talked about in class who links the Christian faith with
the need for a more just world. She embodies the ideals of the
Rights and Responsibilities theme in Catholic Social Teaching.
This theme teaches that all human have certain rights and they
can only be upheld if the community holds to the their
responsibility of protecting them. Malala thought her
responsibility to society was to protect the rights of women to
have the opportunity for an equal education in her country. She
did this by standing up to the Taliban members who were
oppressing people in her country.
4. I will take many things with me from this class that will further
my spiritual and moral development. Spiritually, I realized how
powerful prayer and meditation can be. I do not identify with a
religion and I dont know if I will in the future, but having some
sort of meditation or prayer seems like a good idea to me. I saw
what praying did for Immacule Ilibagiza to get her through hard
times. I also saw how meditation helped Pema Chodron get
through the trauma of divorce and continues to help her live a
happy, fulfilled life. I do not really know whom I would pray to, so
I might start to try meditating. I could even just pray to my own
kind of higher power, not necessarily a God in a certain religion.
Morally, I have developed a lot in terms of my understanding of
the issues associated with feminism and equality. My moral
judgment is now better towards women. I learned about the

realities of catcalling through a video as well as the opinions of

girls in the class. I also learned about issues such as the wage
gap that hold women back still to this day. It makes me want to
educate more people or even just speak up the next time
someone says something sexist. Therefore, this class has
improved my morals because I got to empathize a little bit with
the struggles that face women. I used to just think that feminists
were crazy women who thought that women do not deserve
certain treatment because they are superior. I changed my mind
and it makes me want to be a better man that promotes equality
in our country.
5. One key theological idea that I learned from this class is the
power that faith can have. I learned of many women in this class
who used their faith to get through rough patches in their lives.
You can have faith in anything; it does not have to be religious,
but a religious faith can definitely be strong as shown through
some of these women. Immacule used her Catholic forms of
prayer to survive in very harsh conditions. Pema Chodron learned
how to cope with the sorrows of divorce and loneliness by finding
peace in her religion. Saint Agnes was also able to stand up to
powerful leaders and her own death because of her strong
beliefs in Christianity. Religion can therefore make people brave
and give them power that they might not normally possess.
Another theological idea that I learned from this class is the early
teachings of most religions usually are less progressive for
equality and womens rights. For example, one can compare the
views of women in the Old Testament to that of the New
Testament. The Old Testament says how women could not talk to
strangers, could not testify in court, and married women could
not leave their husbands home without permission. The New
Testament gives a little more equality to men. Another example
of this theological idea is seen in very conservative Muslims and
Jews. The women are looked at as inferior in these religious
backgrounds. In contrast, women are given equality to men in
newer religions, such as Wicca. I also learned about mysticism in
this class. It was something I had never heard of until we
discussed the visions that Saint Teresa of Avila had. Mysticism is
a sort of religious experience that one has that brings them
closer to or unites them with God. It can grant them an epiphany
or give them a feeling of ecstasy. There is not one solid definition
for mysticism because there seem to be many forms of it. The
mystic also determines what kind of experience it was to them.